Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Monday brings movement

Monday means back to school, back to routines and all that jazz. Thankfully it was an uneventful day on the negative side, but filled with a lot of those little moments that will stay in your memory forever. I like those kinds of days !


We began the day with Mom Mc Muffins- 1/2 cup egg beaters , 2 oz of turkey ham and a slice of provalone with a cup of french press coffee and cream for 300 calories. I am getting addicted to fresh ground french press coffee !

We did a Wii Fit plus workout, began school and then took a break to go for a walk, in search for materials for an art project- a bare branch that looks like a tree. It will be used in our Halloween decorations later. While out and about we also decided to try to get a closer look at this squirrels nest that has been outside our window , but hidden by leaves all season

Pretty big, isn't it ? There have been several squirrels living in it for the past couple of months, but now that the leaves are gone they seem to have moved on. After we found our branch we came back to do more schoolwork till lunchtime. It was a very good morning !

Lunch was an egg salad sandwich on Arnold s, mug of alphabet soup, carrots, celery and a sliced apple for 365 calories. Something about this lunch reminds me of my own grade school days when i would come home and eat lunch while my mom did her ironing and watched soap operas.After lunch we ot back to school , and during the afternoon session we made our anual sugar skulls for decoration. We are not hispanic, but Halloween is a religious holiday to honor the departed in my faith. These traditional Mexican crafts fit in very nicely with the holiday

Right now they are blank while they dry, but next week they will be decorated with frosting, sequence and more. We do not eat these, so non food items are okay to add on.To make them our way, take a bag of powdered sugar, a can of white frosting and knead them together to form a playdough like clay. Then shape and let them dry for about a week.

After school was done we did another Wii fit workout and had a snack- 2 rice cakes with 2 T whipped strawberry cream cheese. 150 calories. When you add a big glass of water, this really stays with you !

Dinner featured an old favorite done in a new way. Citrus Ginger Dump Chicken, whole wheat couscous and roast butternut squash cubes . I peeled and cubed a butternut squash , tossed the cubes in 1 T olive oil , spread on a cookie sheet and sprinkled with cinnamon and stevia. I roasted it at 425 for 30 minutes.We all really likes it, and it seems the stevia sort of caramelizes under heat. Tomatoes and cucumbers served on the side for 496 calories

After dinner it was a family Wii workout session, and then a snack while watching Dancing with the stars - a pear and Fiber Plus bar for 200 calories. Days total calories 1501.

I am up blogging at this hour because I cannot sleep. It seems that on the nights when I do work outs I fall into a deep sleep for about an hour and then wake up with intense pain in my hips and knees that herbs or OTC pain medications will not relive. On the nights when I do not work out, I sleep deeply without pain. If I do not work out, the weight loss slows, but if I do not get enough sleep my adrenal glands start pumping high levels of cortizol and it causes numerous problems in my body ( arterial problems, throws my thyroid out of balance, sends my cholesterol levels into the dangerous range and aggravates my arthritis). I am not sure what to do about this.

6 comments:

Marisa @Loser for Life said...

Love Mom McMuffins!!!!!

Those crafts look cool - you are so fun!

Hope you're feeling better and get some rest :)

Diane, Fit to the Finish said...

Your food looks really good and it sounds like you had a productive day.

If you workout earlier in the day does the pain affect your sleep? I'm an early workout person so I haven't experienced that sleep/wakeup pattern!

Take care Diane.

Di said...

The pain seems to happen no matter if I work out early or late, and it just does not make logical sense to me. It does not hurt while I am working out or immediately after, but waits till about an hour after i have fallen asleep. There is some kind of logical explanation for it, but so far i cannot figure out what is happening. Once I figure it out, I can find a remedy.

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

Bad when you can't get your sleep. My arthritis has been acting up and I went and got a shot yesterday. Take care.

yodasmith said...

If you are not exercising on an empty stomach in the morning, you might want to try that. You will be more likely to burn fat and it might help your sleeping situation. I'm on a treadmill in the morning before I eat most days of the week (usually 6 days now)and if my scale is accurate, I've lost about 24lbs since June.

By the way, what brand of stevia do you use? I like SweetLeaf Sweetener Stevia ( not all stevia taste the same, you know)

Don't give up! But you do need your sleep!

Di said...

Hi yodasmith ! I use Members Mark Stevia - sold at Sam's club . I like it a lot, and yesterday with the squash was the first time I cooked with it. i was rather pleased that it caramelizes like cane sugar- it makes for another plus to using stevia in my book ! I don't exercise before eating because it gives me heartburn - it's not the norm for everyone but simply the way my body operates.